Fans who follow Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls may recognize a player from town on the pitch soon enough.

In mid March, Sandy Hook 16-year-old Matthew Dos Santos signed his first professional contract, inking with New York Red Bulls II of MLS NEXT Pro after a seven-year climb with Red Bulls Academy. He began playing for Red Bulls II on an academy agreement in May of 2024; the contract is set up for a transition to the first team (the Red Bulls) beginning in 2027.

“I’m extremely excited — it’s what I’ve been working towards since I was a little kid so to fulfill this dream is a surreal feeling,” Dos Santos said. “One of my goals is to debut with the first team. That’s hopefully the next step for me and what I’m working toward that at the moment as well as continuing to preform for the second team.”

A left wing defender, Dos Santos uses his athleticism to join the offense, making him a dual threat at times. He grew up playing in the Brookfield Soccer Club beginning at the age of 4 and was scouted by the Red Bulls through an Instagram video when he was nine.

Dos Santos and his family travel by car to Whippany, N.J., home of the training facility — two hours each way — four to five times each week, year round. Dos Santos attended Newtown schools beginning in 2017 when his family moved from Brookfield to Sandy Hook. He attended Newtown High for the first semester of his freshman year before switching to online learning due to his schedule with the Red Bulls.

“There’s been plenty of sacrifices as well as commitment along the way because of the distance that we travel but as a family we feel it’s all been worth it,” Dos Santos said. “Yeah it’s tough doing online school and I don’t necessarily like it but it’s what works. And I do miss most of the stuff I had going on at NHS but it’s one of those sacrifices that was necessary to be where I am today.”

Among the soccer standout’s career highlights, and part of what makes this all worthwhile, was winning U15 MLS NEXT Cup in Frisco, Texas in 2023.

“My favorite memory had to be winning MLS NEXT Cup for sure, but up there with it had to be my professional debut and of course signing the contract,” he said.

Since joining Red Bulls II through the Red Bulls Academy last year, Dos Santos has made two starts across seven appearances, logging 227 minutes. The defender made his MLS NEXT Pro debut on June 14, 2024 against New England Revolution II. He made his first career MLS NEXT Pro start in a 1-0 win over Atlanta United 2 on March 7 of this year. The defender began his time in with the program playing for the Red Bulls Pre-Academy team when he was 9 years old. Dos Santos graduated into the U-12 Academy group and has risen through the age groups since then.

His next game is scheduled for Sunday, March 30, when Red Bulls II visits NYCFC II at 2 pm. Other teams on the schedule include Chicago FC United, Orlando City U23, and the Carolina Core.

Dos Santos said his talent for the game definitely comes from his dad, Mauro, who has played soccer his whole life and continues to lace up the cleats and compete to this day. He played for the Newtown Pride and now competes for the Danbury Portuguese Club. The sport is not only a favorite outlet for the 16-year-old but really his only one given both the time commitment necessary at this level coupled with his passion for the sport.

“Soccer is pretty much all I’ve ever known so it’s difficult to describe how much I enjoy it, but the sport is kind of just a safe space for me,” he said.

And an exciting one at that.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.